War Council
by YukiSkye
Summary: In which important decisions are made, arguments are fought, and the actual meeting itself can be as much a battle as the actual fight against the Black Mage is.


_Finally._ Only took me a _whole year_ to finish this.

* * *

The coming evening found a gathering of five people sitting in conference around a long, polished oval mahogany table. At the front of the room, a wide wall-to-ceiling window that stretched the span of the whole wall presented a breathtaking view of the sky outside above the clouds, washing the interior with shades of solid orange and goldenrod sunlight and throwing the spacious, lavish room in the subdued colors of dusk.

At the head of the table with his back to the window sat Phantom, his feet propped lazily on the table, chair tilted precariously backwards, and a look of sheer and utter boredom on his face. A small distance away on the right side of the table was Freud, quill dutifully in hand with a piece of parchment in front of him to jot notes, a few books stacked neatly beside him on top of which was a small pile of papers, and an ink well sitting tidily to his right. Mercedes was seated primly across him in her chair, looking every bit as elegant and alert as royalty was expected to be at such occasions. Luminous sat a little distance next to Freud, looking attentive for the upcoming discussion and occasionally shooting glares at the blithe thief. Finally, the last member of their group, Aran, sitting across Luminous, gazed thoughtfully at the gigantic, detailed map of the Minar continent region strewn on the table bedecked with a variety of markings indicating locations of the multitude of the placements of the enemy as well as allies and any populated regions.

As the hour drew near, Mercedes stood from her seat and with a clear, strong voice, began the conference.

"I hereby call this meeting to order," she announced. "Our first order of business—"

"The Black Mage's pets are on the move and we need to stop them!" Aran interrupted, abruptly standing from her seat and slamming a hand down on the table, snarling at the map.

Mercedes shot a glare towards Aran for the interruption before starting again. "_Our first order of business,_" she repeated, "is to determine the movements of the enemy. Phantom? Do you have any information?"

Phantom shrugged. "I have a lot of information on movements. You'll need to be more specific than that for me to help you."

Mercedes gritted her teeth and clenched her hands in offended frustration at his attitude but took a few deep breaths before asking again in a slightly strained voice, "Do you have any information on the movements of the Commanders then?"

Phantom tapped the head of his cane against the palm of his hand and hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I've recently received news that Magnus was on the move heading far west into the mountains. Hilla is still marching her army of undead in the south towards one of our territories and they should be just about to engage with what's left of the royal army around now and—"

"There's no way they can fight her and her army off alone," Aran said frowning worriedly, gazing at the map.

"Relax. Testonen's there… and Yuris too for good measure," Phantom drawled, polishing the gem on his cane in a bored fashion.

Aran's shoulders relaxed slightly but she remained tense.

"What else?" Mercedes asked.

"And Valfor has recently destroyed a south-western town about eighty-five miles from our base. Sources tell me that there are plans to build a stronghold there and Von Leon has already managed to secure a supply route there."

Mercedes's hands clenched and her eyes sparked with fire at the mention of the half-demonic Commander.

"I won't let him," she growled.

Phantom shrugged. "And that's about it. Guwaru is still replenishing his life force from our last clash with him, Orchid and… Lotus are still on standby, and Arkarium is still stuck in his lab somewhere like a good maniacal little scientist. Speaking of, how's _our_ evil good little scientist?"

Freud's mouth curved into a smirk. "Quite well thank you for asking. Progress is slow but it's progress nonetheless. The Seal Stones have finally been completed. The time magic it's composed of, however, is most likely unstable if activated so it's doubtful we can count on them to seal something like the Black Mage. There's simply not enough information about time magic to do anything more extensive beyond what I have done but it's still something we can use as a last resort.

"Now that the Seal Stones are completed, I can finally focus my full efforts on researching anything we can use against the Black Mage as well as more effective sealing methods if we cannot destroy him permanently. Judging by our current prowess and measuring it up against his power, however, I believe it would save me more time and effort if I simply concentrated on researching and studying seals. The gap between us and him is just too great for anything otherwise."

"I see…" Mercedes murmured. "So these Seal Stones use time magic?"

"Yes. I believe it's one of the most effective means of subduing the Black Mage. If nothing in this physical world can bind him, then the seal must be something that cannot be touched or easily manipulated, something that not even someone like the Black Mage can escape and short of death, time would be the next best option."

"Makes sense I guess," Aran agreed, nodding.

"Unfortunately right now, I'm afraid I have to take a temporary hiatus from experimenting on new seals since Luminous still needs to report to me about the result of the current seal he's testing and it appears that it'll take quite some time before he could successfully perform it."

"I apologize. I shall continue to be ever vigilant with this task."

"I hope you don't call blowing up half the forest vigilant because I would hate to know what you're like when you're careless," Phantom snickered.

Luminous swiveled towards Phantom and glared hard. "The seal that I am attempting to complete is complex and difficult to achieve. But I suppose the likes of you would not be aware of the hard work that goes into such things."

"It was a joke, Luminous," Phantom explained dryly. "You know, those things people say that make you go haha? Even Freud knows a joke when he hears one. He could even _make_ one too."

"It is not the case that I am unaware of what a joke may be. It is simply the case that your taste in jokes leaves much to be desired."

"My humor is superb! But I suppose it'd be lost on an old man such as you."

"Ahem! Hello? We're still in conference here? Focus!" Aran interrupted loudly. "We're here to win a war! Not listen to you two bicker! You can beat each other up _after_ we get things done."

"I quite agree with Aran," Freud concurred dryly and the two men dropped their dispute though Luminous kept on a sour look while Phantom now wore a gleeful one.

"Yes, enough of this nonsense," Mercedes said sternly. "Any idea what Magnus plans to do?"

Phantom shrugged. "Who knows. From a purely tactical perspective, I'd say he's there to gather additional mineral resources since there's nothing of interest really beyond that in the mountains where he's headed but that guy always seems to have a second agenda anyway."

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Aran growled, eyes narrowing. "That slimeball has something up his sleeve."

"Magnus is rarely without ulterior motives," Luminous agreed. "It would behoove us to learn what he may have in store."

"If you wish, I could send some of the other Dragon Masters to tail him," Freud offered as he took down some notes.

Mercedes's attention piqued at that. "Where are they now?"

"They are stationed at the border between mountain and forest as well as in the northeastern part of the mountains right around… here as of now, securing the area and ensuring that no one can break through to the Nine Spirit Dragon," Freud said, circling the aforementioned area on the map with his quill. "It would be a simple task to maneuver through the mountains with their mobility in the skies although how Magnus was able to get through their defense undetected is still quite suspect."

Aran hummed contemplatively and Luminous opened his mouth to speak when something suddenly shot across his face in a sharp whiz of air a mere few centimeters away from his eyes, instantly causing him to jerk back.

He immediately swiveled over to where it had come from and of course, Phantom was sitting there, looking as he always did but he just knew the thief was the one who threw it.

Upon noticing his gaze on him, he quirked an inquisitive yet amused brow and Luminous gave him his best glare before deciding to forget about it. He will not stoop to that thief's level of childishness nor shall he fall for his bait.

Luminous turned back to the conversation at hand and opened his mouth yet again to add in his own input but a second card zipped an inch from his nose, preventing him from speaking once more.

He could feel impatient annoyance immediately swell within him and he directed a heated glower at Phantom who looked back at him impassively although he could just see the very corners of his mouth twitch slightly in an effort not to grin.

He did not have the time for this! Can the thief not see that this was not the right moment to play his childish little games or to entertain his whims? The future of Maple World was in their hands right now, discussing any headway they can make in the campaign against the Black Mage and this _thief _was treating this like it was all some sort of game! What nerve! How dare he!

As Luminous sat in his chair attempting to calm himself back down again, Phantom smirked and discretely tossed yet a third card but as it darted towards the silently seething Light Mage, it abruptly burst into flame midair as it whizzed past Freud, reducing it to nothing but ashes in a blink of an eye, and the mage directed a scathing look towards Phantom.

"If you cannot exercise enough self-restraint to _behave_, leave," Freud said lowly, warningly to which Phantom seemed to quail almost imperceptibly before shrugging his shoulders in a seemingly flippant manner.

Luminous felt a measure of gratitude quickly rise to replace the previous boiling indignant anger in his chest.

"Now I believe you were about to say something, Luminous?" Freud prompted.

Luminous gave him a quick grateful smile before finally voicing his thoughts. "I had intended to say that although the ranks of the Dragon Masters are vast, the mountains they patrol are even more so. It might not be so unusual if they had failed to notice his infiltration."

"Perhaps. But there should have been spells to alert of any unknown presences entering."

"Freud…" Mercedes hesitated slightly on what she was about to say next but she was quickly beaten to the punch by Aran.

"Did one of the Dragon Masters betray us?" Aran asked bluntly and Mercedes heaved a small sigh.

Does this woman know no tact?

"Impossible," Freud answered promptly nonetheless, his eyes never even leaving his parchment as he scribbled down more notes. "The Onyx Dragons are by their very nature a peaceable race and in order to form a bond with one, a person must have a good-intentioned and strong will otherwise, the Onyx Dragon will reject their souls, making a bond impossible so rest assured, Aran. The Dragon Masters will investigate the infiltration in addition to tailing Magnus. It is a part of their duty to do so as the patrol of the mountains, after all."

"Then we'll leave this to you," Mercedes said, nodding in satisfaction. "Then the next matter we should address is our next move. I—"

"Oh I know exactly what our next move should be," Aran interrupted yet again, oblivious or disregarding the glare Mercedes was shooting at her. "Look here. That town Valfor took over and the forest a little southeast they've occupied? I think they're trying to raise checkpoints to get to us slowly. If they reach Freud's house, it's pretty much all over because that's our base and it's where we keep important information and materials."

"I still don't see why Freud can't simply move onto the Lumiere," Phantom complained.

Aran scrunched her face at him and scowled. "Are you crazy? I've already told you! Being in the air isn't defensible! I mean pretty much a majority of the Commanders know how to fly but we don't! If they decide to attack us, they've got the advantage because we can't fight at our full strength without risking damage to the ship and all the Commanders basically have to do is slash here and shoot there and then it's bye-bye for us. C'mon we've been over this already!"

"And what makes you think I'll be that simple to track in the first place? And secondly, my ship is _not_ that easy to destroy even by a Commander," Phantom argued, offended by the way Aran implied his lack of skills in keeping his own ship out of danger and the way she spoke of his prized Lumiere as though it were a paper boat that could be effortlessly shredded apart.

Aran snorted and put a hand on her hip. "I sure as hell don't want to risk it. But if it'll make you happy, let's take a vote. All in favor of moving Freud onto the Lumiere and no doubt have it shot down and lose everything say aye." No one spoke. "All opposed." Three arms instantly shot up. "There you go so can it."

Phantom glared witheringly at Aran but the headstrong woman easily brushed it aside in favor of the matter before them.

"Anyway, I think we should interrupt their little quest before they get too far or start to get any strange ideas in their heads. So how's the progress of that stronghold going so far?

"In the beginning stages," Phantom grunted, having returned to his previous task of polishing his cane. "Laying the foundations."

"So we caught them early. That's good. Let's see then…"

Aran adopted a thinking stance as she stood over the map, eyes darting contemplatively over the lines and symbols meant to represent their physical battlefield.

"Valfor is still occupying this town is he not?" Mercedes asked.

"Yes," Phantom answered shortly, examining his bejeweled cane with one critical eye.

"Then I shall go," Mercedes declared determinedly, fire burning in grim sapphires. "I still have much I wish to unleash upon him for the… the utter atrocities he has committed."

Luminous frowned ever so slightly at the words. "If I may point out, Valfor is no different from the other Commanders in his disregard and destruction of life and harmony. Why do you insist on pursuing him so?"

A flush of indignant pink bloomed like roses on Mercedes's cheeks as she shot a hardened glare at the mage.

"No," she refuted sharply. "He is different. I know his motives. My reasons of pursuit shall remain my own reasons and my own reasons only."

"Nonetheless, Mercedes," Freud intervened smoothly. "We cannot allow you to move without a plan. I recognize your need to confront Valfor however, duty comes before personal feelings." He directed a hardened gaze towards her. "You understand."

Mercedes's eyes flickered briefly in conflicted acknowledgement before she seemed to yield, nodding her head once stiffly, inwardly berating herself for her un-queenly behavior as she conceded with a quiet, "I do."

"So if I am not mistaken, in order to recapture that town, we must banish Valfor and secure it. But mayhap it is a trap to gain our attention? After all, of all places, why would they choose to start at such distance from us when they can establish themselves anywhere?" Luminous asked as he looked curiously down at the map.

"It's not easy to clear a land as untamed as the forests of Minar," Mercedes answered. "Even with the strength of the Commanders, it will take time they cannot waste idling."

"Besides, they still have troops to look out for. The Commanders can run ahead sure but they'll still need the soldiers' support if they want to defeat us and our own forces and as powerful as the Commanders are, their troops aren't. They don't have a choice but to approach us slowly," Aran added, tracing a finger absently along the imaginary boundary of their magical defenses and then she frowned. "It's true that it could be a trap but we can't exactly leave them alone either."

Luminous nodded his agreement and Aran continued, talking rapidly more to herself than to anyone in the room, a glint of intent excitement in her narrowed ice-blue eyes as she considered the map with eager rapt attention.

"If they're only beginning to make a stronghold, it's best to interrupt them now before they get too carried away. Phantom, any idea what their formations are like? Defense? Numbers? Anyone we should watch out for besides Valfor?"

Phantom stretched and yawned, getting up from his seat languidly and swiping the quill right out of Freud's hands with a cheeky wink, to which the mage rolled his eyes, as he passed by to stand near Aran.

"They number about a hundred give or take right now though I wouldn't be surprised if more starts to slog in as they complete more of their little pet project," Phantom drawled, twirling the pen dexterously between his fingers. "They patrol about a one mile radius range from the center, concentrated along the north and south and they're mostly focused along the roads at that given how dense the forest is although there are a few winged pests that patrol the skies. Security is also a lot tighter around their unsightly construction site. Formations around it…" The thief made a few lines around a point meant to represent their target on the map with deft strokes as he spoke, "Is placed as such. I have no information on whether they've erected any magical defenses or traps, however."

"Hmm…"

"We also don't know if any other Commander would decide to join midway," Phantom added, already carrying himself back to his seat where he collapsed into it and resumed his original position on his chair.

"There is also a question of what is to be done once we succeed in this venture to rid the area of the Black Mage's warriors. What are we to do with the abandoned retreat?" Luminous asked.

"Destroy it I guess? But it's basically a spot just begging to be taken over again what with the cleared space and all," Aran said, scratching her head at the dilemma. "And we can't exactly let the townsfolk go back to living there. It's too dangerous. If they've destroyed it once, there's no guarantee they won't do it again. S'not like anything's stopping them."

"Can we not convert it to our own purposes?" Luminous proposed.

"We don't have the time or the people to build a whole outpost," Aran argued. "And we just don't have the manpower to secure it. If a Commander decides to attack it again, even with our own forces…"

"Perhaps I could be of assistance in this regard then," Mercedes offered. "It's possible that I could have the forests of Leafre regrow over the site with the assistance of the spirits."

"Oh, that sounds like a plan to me. I like that. This way, they can't reclaim it and we don't have the worry about defending it." Aran nodded firmly to herself as though mentally sealing the deal within her mind. "So you'll go and I'm guessing you'll take a few of your elven warriors with you?"

Mercedes dipped her head in confirmation. "We shall leave as soon as possible. Our messengers will bring weekly reports of our progress; Sylvidia as well in the event they are intercepted."

"We still need someone with more magical expertise than Phantom to check for traps," Freud reminded. "And as I'll be overseeing the Dragon Masters' investigation into Magnus; Luminous, will you be able to go?"

"I shall," Luminous agreed.

"Then it's settled," the warrior declared with a note of firm satisfaction in her voice. "Mercedes and Luminous will go. Anyone else have anything to add?"

Nothing was forthcoming.

"Okay then! We did a good job today!" Aran cheered, looking pleased.

"We made progress," Mercedes murmured, a slight frown adorning petal-pink lips. "But I'm unsure it's progress worth praising ourselves over."

"Sure it is! Every little bit that leads us closer to defeating that bastard in the sky counts," Aran rebutted with a determined gleam in her eye.

"Rather than linger on how long the road ahead is," Freud added, beginning to pack up his things, "Let us focus on where we are now lest we grow discouraged like so many others. Remember what you wish to protect and keep that close."

Mercedes nodded in acknowledgement before turning to the group as a whole, a tight and grim look on her features as she announced, "I hereby call an end to our meeting."

"As if it's necessary to even do so," Phantom yawned, stretching like a languid cat that had been trapped in a cramped space for much too long. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I believe I have better things to do."

And with a whoosh of flashing orange cards, he was gone.

"That thief," Luminous grumbled under his breath disapprovingly. "It would behoove him to learn his priorities."

Freud's smile was small with just a shadow of helpless sadness lingering in its corners as he said, "He already knows his priorities, Luminous." And as swiftly as it had appeared, the smile is replaced with one of polite regard as he continued, "If you would excuse me. There is much work left to be done."

With that, Freud too swept out of the room in quick steps.

"We should probably go and prepare too," Mercedes said, looking towards Luminous who nodded in agreement before turning to Aran. "We'll see you soon, Aran. Please keep safe while we are away."

Aran grinned full of that boundless confidence she was so known for. "While I'm here, you don't need to worry about a thing. I'll be sure to be on my guard and keep watch."

They smiled faintly almost in fond exasperation at her unwavering energy even in such dire straits as this war and the three remaining occupants of the room finally exit, leaving behind a twilight sky of luminescent stars.

* * *

I still refuse to believe the Seal Stones are made of love, sunshine, and rainbows because how, if you would excuse my language, the _fuck _do you solidify fracking _friendship _and _feelings?_ Really? The power of friggin friendship and our deep desire to protect the land will make a magical thing that will actually protect the land against the Big Evil Who Just Is For Apparently No Real Reason. HOW CONVENIENT. Good _gawd _Nexon are you writing a cheap paperback novel or something? Then again, why do I expect good writing to come from them? The only thing that came out half decent was Phantom's, Kaiser's, and Zero's storyline.

/Rant


End file.
